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Paul Bigland

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Paul Bigland

Monthly Archives: April 2019

Rolling blog: the Viennese whirl, part 3.

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Uncategorized

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07:13 (all times in German time for now).Another day, another early start. The weather’s pretty dismal in Vienna today but there’s lots to look forward to before I fly back to the UK later. At least I managed some decent sleep – even if there wasn’t enough of it! Here’s the view from my hotel room, looking back to the hill and the location of the vineyard we ate at last night.

The hotel’s in two parts as there’s offices above until you get to the roof, where there’s a restaurant and bar. Here’s the view from last night.

08:35After an excellent breakfast we’ve checked out of our hotel and been loaded into a coach to head off to our first assignment. The chance to see an autonomous bus at the new Viennese suburb of Aspern Seestadt.10:08.Here’s the bus we came to see.

The whole area’s fascinating. The suburb’s designed to be a modern city that has a low ecological impact. I’ll add some more details and links later. Right now we’re on the move again..11.29.We’re currently being conducted around Siemens Vienna factory which is building a variety of main line, metro and light rail vehicles. Here’s new vehicles being constructed for Nuremberg.

This is one of the cars for the Rhine-Ruhr Express.

13:32.

It’s been a fascinating tour of the Siemens factory and chance to learn a lot about developments at the plant since my last visit in 2012. I’ll add more pictures and details later. Right now it’s time to head off to the airport and begin the journey back to the UK…

14:51

A small group of the British contingent and a friend from Siemens UK are now camped out at Vienna’s Terminal 3 where we’ve got a couple of hours to kick our heels before we catch the plane to Heathrow. Sadly, this new terminal has been ‘Jamie Olivered’. I’ve nothing against the guy but when all three eateries in the place are his, it’s a bit overkill!

May 1st Update.

I’ll add more to the end of this rolling blog when I get home. Right now, another day’s got in the way!

Rolling blog: the Viennese whirl, part 2.

29 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Germany, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Siemens, Travel

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Germany Travel, Rolling blogs, Siemens

05:05.Oh, the joys of early starts. Here’s Heathrow terminal 2 as I wait for Austrian airlines 06:00 flight to Vienna.As airport terminals go T2 is one of the better ones, even if it can be a long walk to your gate. I’m flying from B47, which is a long way from the main terminal. To get there you disappear deep underground and cross a large chunk of the airport via travelators.05:48.Having bumped into another colleague at the gate we’re now on board and waiting for take-off. The musak on the plane is the Viennese waltz used in “2001, a space odyssey” when the Pan-Am space shuttle is docking with the space station. Hopefully, my flight will be less problematic. Next stop, Vienna!09:32We had a pretty good flight, although much of mainland Europe was covered in cloud. Ironically, this made the numerous power stations we passed even more obvious.Now we’re stuck in our chauffeured limo which has taken 25 mins to move 200 metres! The queues to get out of the airport car parks are horrendous!10:03.We’re still in the limo. Having finally escaped the airport we’re now enjoying a tour of industrial Vienna (docks, chemical plants etc) en-route to the hotel.10:33.Finally, we’ve arrived at the hotel. Nice!11:27Journalists from various EU countries have all gathered at the hotel, now we’re being bussed to Siemens HQ for lunch.12:33Chance to eat before the hard work starts. The foods very good and beats the sandwiches that are a staple of so many UK events.13:00.The presentations are underway. The first one I’m attending is on autonomous trams. Siemens have one test system running in Potsdam, but (like the concept of driverless cars) it would be many years before a successful system could be developed and rolled out – if at all. The concept is far more suitable for closed systems rather than unpredictable streets. Think of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester!The second presentation is an interesting one on ‘digital solutions for seamless transportation’. How technology is allowing people to access the information they need to choose integrated transport options.The mining and analysis of data from peoples travel plans is fascinating! I’ve now learned that the band Depeche Mode has a strong following in the former East Berlin because the band gave a concert there before the wall came down and this fan base can still be seen in data today!15:11.The third and final session of the day is “Seamless digital chain in material supply – the easy spares app”. How a mobile phone app can identify parts of a vehicle, find the spare part number and order it for you – amongst other things!

Rolling blog: The Viennese whirl, Part 1.

28 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Air Travel, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Air Travel, Rolling blogs, Travel

18:56.

It’s Sunday evening and I’m on my way from Halifax to Heathrow in readiness to fly out to Vienna in the morning for a press trip to see what Siemens have been up to ahead of the UITP conference. We’ll be seeing the latest cutting-edge transport technology, but the start of my trip is on the antithesis of all that – an old BR built ‘Pacer’ eking out the last months of its life after decades of service acro2ss Yorkshire…

19:45

Having bounced our way sedately and peacefully to Leeds (the train was very quiet as only a handful of passengers were aboard) I’m now on something a little more modern, but also soon to be displaced. I caught LNERs 19:46 Leeds – Kings Cross which is worked by a Mk4 set of coaches pushed by a Class 90 (90026) hired in from DB.

The joys of TDM control mean the set judders like it’s got St Vitus dance. The effect is magnified by the fact I’m in the coach nearest the loco, thank God I’m only on this to Doncaster as it’s taken me 10 mins to type this ‘cos my fingers are all over the place and my ‘spull chucker’ is working overtime!

21:13.

I’m on my way again after a pause at a rather deserted Doncaster. Much of the station had shut up shop and from what I could see the town wasn’t far behind. The platforms were patrolled by the British Transport Police, who clearly expected some form of fracas, although the place was quiet when I passed through. The only thing that was open was a branch of ‘Subway’, which was doing steady business.

The train I’m on now is LNER’s 18:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross. I took a stroll from the coach I’m sitting in (C) to the buffet and did a head count. It’s good! I don’t know what the ticket yield is, but judging by the number of folk on the train, it’s certainly more then paying its way.

23:20

I’m heading for Heathrow on an old friend – the Piccadilly line. There are so many memories attached to it – apart ftom Heathrow. Back in the very early 1980s I used to use it to get to Manor House in North London where an old friend from Southport lived. Mary and I had a fling for a whole, so I used to hitch-hike from Southport to London at weekends to see her. Mary had rented a room with a very orthodox Jewish family, this meant I had to make sure I turned up before sunset, otherwise the door wouldn’t be answered & Mary would have to throw her keys out’ve the window! A decade later, when I was living in London with Lynn in Crouch End, the Piccadilly was one of our local lines. We’d have to get the bus to Finsbury Park to connect with the Picc or the Vic, but they took us to so many places, and to do many memories. Now, Dawn and I use it to head North from Heathrow- although the journey nowadays is a bit further north than Crouch End!

Looking around this train I realise what I miss with living in West Yorkshire. There’s 40 plus folk in this car and I’m probably the oldest one! It’s a young multi-racial crowd, a world away from some of the ‘old’ bits in West Yorkshire who’re still re- fighting the second world war.

Rolling blog: Mancunian meandering…

27 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Manchester, Railways, Rolling blogs

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Manchester, Railways, Rolling blogs

As I’m going to be away on a press trip to Vienna for a few days, Dawn’s suggested that we have a day out together, so we’ve decided to catch a train to the big city by venturing Westwards for an afternoon in Manchester. We’ll have a wander and do a bit of shopping, as well as a drink and a meal somewhere. Our favourite restaurant in the Northern Quarter has closed down, so we’ll be looking for somewhere new. No doubt I’ll have time to post a few pictures and comments, so watch this space.13:11We’re on our way after hanging fire due to the weather. This time last week we were basking in the sun. Today we’re dodging heavy showers blown along by heavy winds, which made the walk down to Sowerby Bridge station interesting to say the least.Now the pair of us are aboard the 13:06 to Southport which is worked by one of Northern’s unrefurbished Class 150s. Personally, I’d have preferred a Pacer but ho hum!…14:40Two very different views of Manchester! First up is Japanese drummers outside a new branch of Uniqlo, which only opened two days ago.

Next up is the old Castle Hotel pub in the Northern Quarter. It’s a classic real ale pub and small music venue.

Rolling blog: West Coast wandering.

26 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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Rail Investment, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

09:45

Friday morning dawned bright and sunny here in the Calder Valley today, so I’m making the most of the weather as it’s not due to last. I’m out and about, heading to the West Coast Main Line at Preston. The stroll from home down to Sowerby Bridge station was a joy as I had the sun on my face and oodles of cherry blossom to admire. The valley’s burst into life in the past week and the pavements are littered with casings now the trees are coming into leaf. Spring has arrived and it’s glorious!

I arrived in time to catch the 09:06 to Southport as far as Mytholmroyd where I stopped to get some shots in the sunshine before carrying on to Hebden Ridge where I changed for the train to Preston.

Hebden’s new lifts are now up and running. They’ve been constructed out of the shafts of the former goods lift which has been abandoned for years. Built to blend in with the rest of the Victorian fabric of the station, they’re quite unobtrusive, although a new period style sign leaves you in no doubt they exist.

After catching two refurbished DMUs I’m now on one of Northern’s original sets, two cat 158855 which is looking rather tatty on the outside, although the interior’s presentable enough. Half the Northern fleet’s been refurbished now, so these sets are becoming increasingly rare.

10:18.

We’ve arrived in Blackburn where the weather’s already on the turn. Ahead of us lies a tall bank of clouds that are ominously dark and dense. It looks like I could be in for some interesting weather!

10:52.

I arrived at Preston just in time to catch sight of the tail of a new Northern Class 195 disappearing North, which was a bit of a bugger but that’s life. Sadly, the rain had arrived ahead of me!

12:20.

I finally found what I was looking for. Not one, but two of the brand new CAF built Class 195 DMU’s that will be entering service with Northern next month. Whilst sunshine would have been nice, the rain has added reflections that work rather well.

DG321387. 195113. Preston. 26.4.19crop

DG321390CROP

DG321398. 195113. Preston. 26.4.19crop.jpg

DG321405crop

13:12.

I’m taking an enforced break as I need to send a bunch of pictures to a client via the station wifi, so I’ve time to grab a coffee and people-watch. It’s Friday and Preston station’s an interchange for services to Blackpool, so you get to see some sights here. A bunch of heavily tattooed young blokes wearing tutus and Fedora hats festooned with flashing LEDs (as you so) have just walked past. There’s no prizes for guessing where they’re heading – apart from the bar…

Meanwhile, my Wetransfer is counting down. It’s times like this I wished my picture file sizes weren’t as large as they are. Thank God I’m not sending the RAW files!

16:17.

I’m finally homeward bound after managing several more shots of the Class 195 training runs. Sadly, a number of timetabled paths remained unused, including one for the new Trans-Pennine Express trains. To cap it all, my 15:47 Preston-York train home was delayed by 25 mins on the inbound working due to “disruptive passengers” which isn’t that unusual event round here, especially on a Friday. To make up some time we’re running fast to Burnley.

17:11.

Despite the late running, I’ve had an easy journey. The train’s been pretty quiet so I’ve been able to relax and enjoy the trip. We’ve even got broken blue skies back in the Calder valley! I’m going to bail out at Halifax and walk back to our local pub to join friends and partake in the quiz from the ‘Pub Paper’ which is read out by another friend. I’m not saying that her Lancastrian accent is broad, but she should come with sub-titles! Dawn’s on her way from work to join me, so it should be a convivial evening.

19:03.

All’s well with the world…

Tomorrow Dawn and l have a day together as on Sunday I have to head to London because I’m on an 06:00 flight from Heathrow Monday morning. I’ve a two day press trip to Vienna, so watch out for more rolling blogs!

Yet another mixed bag of thoughts and pictures.

25 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, West Yorkshire

I’ve been keeping myself occupied working at home all this week, although that will change soon. Today’s been busy with scanning old pictures and digging other bits out of the archive for a client as well as nipping out for a couple of hours to stretch my legs and meet up with a friend from Twitter who’s travelling round this neck of the woods during a trip over from Ireland.

After all the sunshine we had over the weekend, we’ve had a very mixed week, it’s almost like the traditional bank holiday weather arrived a couple of days too late!There’s been some incredibly moody skies, heavy showers and even one huge clap of thunder this afternoon. I try and take a daily walk through our local woods up to Albert Promenade, which offers superb views across and along the Calder valley. Here’s what it looked like a couple of days ago.

I love the views from here because of the way the light’s always changing depending on the clouds and also because we’re looking Southwards, so the sun backlights them, adding to the effect.

Back at home I’ve cracked on with more post-scanning picture editing before sticking them onto my Zenfolio picture website. Here’s a taster of what you can find.

5316. 47361. Very tatty. Didcot. 21.8.95crop

People sometimes forget how tatty trains could look in the BR era. He’s a Class 47 looking rather sorry for itself whilst stabled at Didcot on the 21st August 1995. The old blue paintwork can be seen through the peeling and faded Railfreight livery. 

I’ve now finished scanning the album from 1995 and leapt forward to April 2000, which is when this next shot was taken. The rest are in the queue for scanning…

7610. 90009. 14.35 to Glasgow Central. Euston. 10.4.2000crop

On the 14th April 2000, 90009 ‘The Economist’ still in BR ‘Intercity’ livery waits to leave London Euston with Virgin West Coast’s 14.35 to Glasgow Central service. Loco-hauled would last for another 4 years before the new Pendolino’s arrived. Afterwards, 90009 found a new home working trains from Liverpool St to Norwich. A service they’ll soon be displaced from by the arrival of new trains from Stadler. Meanwhile, Euston is in the throes of redevelopment due to the construction of HS2, so in a few years this scene will look very different indeed. 

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I should be out and about, so expect a rolling blog from my travels.

 

Those whom the Gods love die young.

24 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Down memory lane, Gwyll Jones, Musings, Obituaries, Railways

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Down memory lane, Gwyll Jones, Musings, Obituaries, Railways

It could be that I’m getting older and these things become more frequent as you do, or it could just be a spate of bad luck, or divine intervention or – well, just about anything really, depending on your beliefs. But there’s been a run of people whom I know dying recently. I received news of two yesterday. Both were sad for different reasons, but one was completely out of left-field.

Gwilym Jones was a train driver. An ex-West coast man he’d moved to be a depot driver at Wimbledon Park in London, which is where I first met him. A fellow Merseysider (although I used to rib him about the fact he wasn’t a proper Scouser as he was actually from across the water in Birkenhead!) we shared the same sense of humour and love of the railways. Oh, and beer – and stories. Gwyll had a treasure-trove of stories from his days as a train driver.

We’d usually meet in the company of his colleagues Steve Upton (who introduced us to each other) and Chris Buckland, amongst others. One memorable year (2007) our little group were down at the Swanage railway gala with the 4-VEP which was being used in passenger service. For those who wonder what I’m talking about, a 4-VEP is an old electric train of 4 coaches built in the 1960s. In the evenings we’d bed down in several of the 1st Class compartments. This produced some memorable moments and the jokes about flatulence and bars of soap which are still told today!

When I moved from London to Yorkshire we didn’t see as much of each other but our friendship was maintained through Facebook. The old humour and interests were still there of course, as was the banter, we just shared it in a different way. Gwll never mentioned his illness on Facebook, or to many people, but he’d developed Hodgkin lymphoma last year.

Yesterday, Steve Upton broke the news that Gwll had died on Monday, aged just 53, so this is my little tribute to him. RIP mate, safe journey.

DG10560. Gwyll. Steve. Buckie. Swanage. 11.5.07.crop

From L-R. Gwyll, Steve and Buckie with the VEP at Swanage in May 2007. Fond memories.

Rolling blog: I love to go a wandering…

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Pubs, Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

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Food and drink, pubs, Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

It’s bank holiday Monday and the weather’s absolutely stonking! After spending a morning pottering around at home, picture-editing and sorting out some chores Dawn and I are preparing to walk through the Calder Valley to a favourite old haunt, the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale, which is a great place for a spot of lunch after a few hours walking. No doubt we’ll have time to post a few pictures and comments later, so watch this space.

15:31.

We’ve stopped for a break at the Shoulder of Mutton in Mytholmroyd after walking down the hill to Sowerby Bridge, crossed the Calder, then slogged uphill to Sowerby on a road I call ‘Lost dreams Rd’ because it’s always littered with failed lottery scratch cards! In the distance you can see our starting point under the Wainhouse Tower.

The view the other way (looking along the valley towards Mytholmroyd) isn’t bad either!

23:18

It’s the end of the day and it’s been a very active one. We made it to the Robin Hood for an excellent Sunday lunch (OK, it’s bank holiday Monday, but never mind) of succulent lamb and Yorkshire puddings, accompanied by a huge amount of vegetables (not in the picture).

For £10, it can’t be beaten. Whilst we were eating a drama was unfolding which made it feel like we were actually in an episode of ‘Emmerdale Farm’, only this wasn’t fiction. Poor Roger (the landlord) and his wife had suffered a serious arson attack and trashing of vehicles on his farm, apparently carried out by some young teenage scrotes who’re causing trouble in the area. The police had arrived to gather information whilst a number of concerned locals were popping in to see if they were alright or offer help. Meanwhile, in the bar, other locals were complaining about the outrageous prices in a nearby pub (which shall remain nameless) and a less than placid relationship between a local couple (who will also remain nameless).

We ended up having a couple of drinks in a very quiet Sowerby Bridge after walking back along the Rochdale canal. I got the impression the good weather had meant that many people had stayed at home with a barbecue and a few beers. Still, we’d had a good days exercise, as the screen for my Fitbit shows.

fitbit

Rolling blog: the Big 6 on tour…

20 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Food and drink, Lancashire, Pubs, Rolling blogs, The Big 6, Travel

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Food and drink, Lancashire, pubs, Rolling blogs, The Big 6, Travel

10:20.

Today a group of friends from the Big 6 pub in Halifax, under the leadership of Tony Allan (of Phoenix Brewery fame) are having a little outing by train, over the Pennines to Rochdale to partake in the Easter ale trail, a new take on the traditional beer festival. It’s another fantastic Spring day here in the Pennines, so the weather’s ideal. Watch out for updates on our (probably unsteady) progress throughout the day! Before we go, Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen as we’re hosting her parents for dinner tomorrow. Last night she prepared a special marinade for this leg of lamb, which will now steep until tomorrow.12:09.

The group rendezvous at Halifax railway station.12:57.

The group outside the first pub of the day – The Flying Horse hotel which has a great view of the Town Hall.Here’s the token system.15:10.

We’re on our third pub and it’s a cracker! It’s The Baum in Toad Lane, a conservation area. The pub is adjacent to the shop where, in 1844, the Rochdale Pioneers opened their first shop and started the co-operative movement back in 1844.This has been our lunch stop and I couldn’t resist ordering a traditional Lancashire delicacy: rag pudding with mushy peas and chips!We’ve now stepped through a door into a 5th dimension where it feels like we’re in London, or Paris, not Rochdale – and Otto’s found the piano..18:10.

We’re now on what’s probably our last pub, which is opposite the Town Hall. The Old Post Office.

Good Friday? It’s been great so far!

19 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by Paul Bigland in Uncategorized

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I’m currently enjoying one of those incredibly rare things, an Easter holiday with good weather! We’ve got wall to wall sunshine here in the Calder Valley, which makes it a perfect time to be at home, catching up on various bits as well as having some time to relax. Even the Brexit madness has paled a bit.

I spent the morning catching up on some picture editing, sorting out shots from a friend’s 50th birthday.

Now we’ve headed out for a stroll in the sun along the canal into Sowerby Bridge. Master’s traditionally the start of the boating season and the local hire company, Shore cruises is busy showing new customers the ropes…

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